Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: A Taste of Home
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After struggling back to my room, I spun around in circles, deep in thought.
"Come to think of it, before I possessed this body... I heard that when people go overseas, they suddenly crave kimchi and cup ramen. Is Ed feeling the same way?"
From what Ed had let slip, he definitely seemed to like sweet things, but I suspected the reason I'd just thought of was even more likely.
So I headed straight to the kitchen. I'd only ever eaten the food provided by the Morton Family, so cooking was foreign territory to me, but maybe if I gave it a shot, I could recreate something close.
After all, I was the only one who knew the flavors from the Morton Family.
"Well now, what brings you here?"
The head chef and the cooks, who were busy preparing dinner, peeked out as I opened the kitchen door and asked in bewildered tones.
"Was entering the kitchen such a big deal that it took this much courage?"
Still hovering by the door without stepping inside, I gripped the handle tightly and cautiously spoke up.
"Um... I was hoping to do some cooking."
With the head chef's cheerful permission, I stepped inside and rummaged around for ingredients that might produce a similar taste.
Every time I moved, I could feel the wolves' eyes on me, making cold sweat trickle down my back. But for Ed's sake—to let him enjoy something delicious—I had to steel myself.
I tried my best to act like I wasn't aware of the wolf kitchen staff as I creakily got to work on the cooking. Since I could only do so much alone, I had no choice but to accept the head chef's help, and before I knew it, time had flown by.
I finally emerged from the kitchen just as dinnertime with Billy arrived.
"There you are."
Billy's lips pressed together tightly as if he were holding back a laugh the moment he saw me. Then he broke into a gentle smile to welcome me.
Ed was already seated diagonally across from Billy at the head of the table, his lips pursed in a pout while he kept stealing glances at me, clearly regretting his earlier outburst a little.
I took the seat across from Ed. Billy, who had been watching me intently, spoke up.
"But your appearance..."
Billy trailed off awkwardly, his face turning troubled. Thanks to that, I got another reminder of my current state.
My rolled-up sleeves were caked with dough, and my hands reeked of something sweet.
"Haha, I prepared a special gift."
As I glanced at Ed and sat down, the maids began serving the food course by course.
The main course was a meat dish the head chef had prepared with utmost care, and a salad came out for me as well.
Ed wasn't even glancing at his salad.
The salads back at the Morton Family had been drowned in sweet dressing, so a plate full of nothing but fresh greens wouldn't suit Ed's tastes at all.
I'd thought he liked salads before, but it turned out it was all thanks to the dressing.
The menu had been tailored to my own tastes, since even I hated grass-like greens. Who knew it would lead to this?
"But this salad's a bit different."
I subtly slid my salad plate toward Ed. His eyes widened, and his nose inched closer to it.
After sniffing it, Ed's wide eyes turned to me.
His lips were already starting to curl upward.
"Lady Lami, this is..."
"Right, I added some dressing."
At my words, Ed's eyes lit up like a Korean traveler unexpectedly encountering kimchi abroad, and he jumped up to transfer the salad to his own plate.
The servants standing nearby stared in shock as Ed, who had barely touched his food since arriving at the estate, served himself first.
Ed devoured the salad with real enthusiasm. I could hardly wait to see how he'd react to the dessert coming later.
"So it really was true."
Billy let out an impressed "oh" as he watched Ed, then calmly put a perfectly portioned piece of veal into his mouth with precise movements, looking relieved.
As dinner was winding down, the dessert that the head chef and I had made together was placed on the table—a meat pie as close as possible to the ones from the Morton Family.
There were no children in this estate, and Billy wasn't one for desserts, so sweets after meals had never been a thing until now.
Billy, realizing this for the first time, instructed the head chef to hire a patissier since desserts should be made daily from now on.
By the end of the meal, Ed was beaming with the innocent, radiant smile of a child.
As Lami finished chatting briefly with Billy after dinner and started up the stairs to the second floor...
"Lady Lami."
Ed, who had been hesitating by the staircase, took a tentative step forward.
Truth be told, Ed couldn't even explain to himself why he'd thrown such a tantrum. It had never happened before. Was it because she was the one adult here he felt most comfortable with?
Knowing his behavior had been wrong, Ed had spent the entire dinner stealing subtle glances at Lami.
"What if she's mad and decides to punish me?"
Back at the Morton Family, the harsh words hadn't bothered him much since they weren't really his fault, but this time it was undeniably on him. Hearing something bad would hurt.
But every time their eyes met, Lami smiled softly at him. That smile melted his heart a little.
Lami turned back to him with the same gentle expression she'd had in the dining room and asked what was up.
"Why'd you stop me all of a sudden? What's this about?"
Ah, so Lady Lami is mad at me after all.
More cowed than before, Ed mustered his courage, grabbed the hem of her sleeve, and said,
"I'm sorry about earlier..."
His voice was small and meek, but Lami seemed to hear it clearly. Her eyes widened for a moment before she flashed that familiar soft smile again.
"Ed, I get it—you miss familiar food. But remember what you said before? That since you're good at everything, you can gain weight easily too."
It was something he'd told her back when he'd first arrived at the Morton Family all scrawny, insisting there was nothing worth ordering so they should fatten him up first.
"Y-Yeah..."
"But I want you to grow tall and strong. For that, you need to eat lots of meat."
"Does eating meat make you grow taller?"
"Way more than some grassy salad nonsense."
Her tone had shifted just a bit, but Ed didn't mind. He clenched his fists and nodded vigorously.
"I can do it!"
Lami knelt down to meet his eye level, gripping his shoulders, and raised her eyebrows in a V-shape.
"Good, I believe you. And I'm sorry too—for responding like that when you were just voicing what you wanted. But—"
Her expression turned a shade sterner than before, and she continued in a gentle, scolding tone.
"—you can't throw a tantrum like earlier just because you don't get what you want."
Then she suddenly stood up straight and finished sharply.
"Do it again, and you'll get nothing—not even broth."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Ed replied with determined eyes and spirit.
During the days without seeing Lami, he'd felt something missing amid the servants who served him dutifully and his gruff uncle.
And now, that emptiness was being filled.
This is it.
Ed had grown so accustomed to Lami's way of handling him that he nodded to himself.
Then he watched as Lami, who had gone pale right after speaking and was now clutching her mouth while looking up with a joyful expression, and thought to himself,
She's such a weirdo.
A few days later, a mage from the Magic Tower visited the Rub Family estate.
Billy had sensed Ed's magical power and called in a mage for an official confirmation.
Kopen Henji, a promising young mage from the chimpanzee family, stood trembling before the grand main gate of the Rub estate. The new Magic Tower Lord, whose smiling face was terrifyingly intimidating—the only one who could speak to him casually.
And now he was at her estate, where she served as family head.
First, he'd been drafted for the investigation into the neglected magic slave issue after the new Tower Lord drew his sword on it. Now, he was being sent on an errand to the Tower Lord's friend's estate.
Having earned significant credit in the magic slave investigation and gained recognition for his skills, Kopen's eyes burned with ambition. He was ready to pave a smooth path to success.
Time to make a real impression!
As he entered the estate brimming with ambition, Kopen couldn't keep his head from turning at the opulent interior.
"The young master is on the second floor."
Following the butler's guidance up to the second floor, Kopen took shaky steps toward Ed's room when—
Whoosh—.
Something darted behind a pillar at high speed and peeked out at him.
What the—?
Could it be the young master? No, he'd heard he was just a kid.
The butler signaled to ignore it and keep walking, but Kopen didn't catch on and headed straight for the pillar.
A sheep?
The beastkin standing before him was unmistakably a sheep. No fangs, the signature snowy white hair of sheep beastkin, and a gentle face.
A frown creased Kopen's brow. He'd always quietly believed carnivore beastkin were superior to herbivores and looked down on the latter.